Some people enjoy change, and they look forward to new experiences. Others like their lives to stay the same, and they do not change their usual habits. Compare these two approaches to life. Which approach do you prefer? Explain why?
Sample Response
Different people have different lifestyle according to their own preferences and values. Some prefer to have similar life patterns to feel stability and comfort, whereas others look for changes to entertain and enhance their lives. Personally, I enjoy changes and always look forward to new experiences. This is because people learn new things by experiencing changes, and it helps people to adjust to the changing society. To begin with, by experiencing changes, people can learn new knowledge and information. Changes in life can be starting a new job, learning a new skill or transferring to different schools. Even though these changes will be unfamiliar and difficult at first, during the process of adjusting to the change, individuals will be able to upgrade their abilities, pick up a new skill and widen their horizons. For example, last year, I decided to go to the U.S. to study abroad. In the beginning, it was hard getting used to my new school and studying different subjects since the academic curriculum was so different to my home country’s, Korea, system. However, as time went by, I was able to enhance my English speaking skills and learn more about American culture and history. This change of studying abroad definitely helped me to widen my perspectives and explore a different country. Thus, changes can help individuals to broaden their horizons. Furthermore, people must change in order to fit in with today’s society which is changing and developing every day. Nowadays, due to scientific development and discoveries, new technologies and mechanical devices are changing the style of how people live their lives. So people need to change and adapt themselves to the new technologies so that they do not get left behind. To be specific, nobody writes their paper or report by hand these days, they use the computer and type in the words instead so that they can finish their work faster and make it more qualified. If people do not change and use the original method of completing their work by hand, they will not be able to catch up with the quality and speed of people who utilise new methods. Thus, people must change so that they can adapt to the changing society. In conclusion, through changes, people can learn new things and fit in with the developing society. In this regard, people should enjoy having changes in their lives.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use plural noun Original: lifestyle Suggested revision: lifestyles Why it matters: The plural noun is needed because the sentence refers to different people's ways of life.
- 2. Improve collocation Original: according to their own preferences and values Suggested revision: based on their own preferences and values Why it matters: “Based on” expresses the relationship with preferences and values more naturally here.
- 3. Use natural phrase Original: similar life patterns Suggested revision: consistent routines Why it matters: This phrase more naturally describes lives that remain largely unchanged.
- 4. Correct verb choice Original: feel Suggested revision: experience Why it matters: People experience stability rather than feel it in this construction.
- 5. Clarify the idea Original: look for changes to entertain and enhance their lives Suggested revision: seek new experiences to enrich their lives Why it matters: The revision expresses the intended benefit of change more naturally and precisely.
- 6. Use uncountable change Original: changes Suggested revision: change Why it matters: “Change” is more natural as an uncountable general concept here.
- 7. Refine noun use Original: changes Suggested revision: change Why it matters: The uncountable form is more natural when referring to change in general.
- 8. Correct collocation Original: learn Suggested revision: acquire Why it matters: English normally uses “acquire” or “gain” with knowledge.
- 9. Fix complement form Original: be Suggested revision: include Why it matters: “Include” is required to introduce examples after this subject.
- 10. Clarify singular example Original: transferring to different schools Suggested revision: transferring to a different school Why it matters: The singular form fits the list of individual life changes more clearly.
- 11. Use natural collocation Original: upgrade Suggested revision: develop Why it matters: Abilities are normally developed rather than upgraded.
- 12. Repair comparison phrase Original: different to my home country’s, Korea, system Suggested revision: different from Korea’s education system Why it matters: This revision fixes the comparison preposition and the malformed possessive apposition.
Suggested Rewrites
- lifestyle lifestyles
- according to their own preferences and values based on their own preferences and values
- similar life patterns consistent routines
- feel experience
- look for changes to entertain and enhance their lives seek new experiences to enrich their lives
- changes change
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response presents a clear preference and supports it with relevant, extended examples, while its progression remains easy to follow. Its main limitation is that it barely examines the contrasting preference for stability, so the required comparison is incomplete; the highest-priority improvement is to develop why some people value unchanged routines and then compare those benefits directly with the advantages of change.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
A clear preference is well supported, but the approach of maintaining stable habits receives almost no substantive comparison.
Develop one focused discussion of the benefits of stability and compare it explicitly with the case for change.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through a clear introduction, two developed body sections, and a consistent conclusion.
Reduce repetitive concluding links such as 'Thus' and make the comparison between the two approaches guide the paragraph sequence.
Lexical Resource
The response shows a sufficient range for abstract discussion, although several collocations are imprecise or unnatural.
Use more natural combinations such as 'gain knowledge,' 'broaden perspectives,' and 'produce higher-quality work.'
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures communicates meaning clearly, but agreement, article, and sentence-boundary errors recur.
Proofread plural agreement and possessive structures, and separate independent clauses instead of joining them with commas.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people enjoy change, and they look forward to new experiences. Others like their lives to stay the same, and they do not change their usual habits. Compare these two approaches to life. Which approach do you prefer? Explain why?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.